


Engaged in Battle

by miraculousstorytelling



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bickering, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Featuring Klance as the couple who puts the public in pda, Hopefully anyway we'll see how it actually goes, One-Sided Attraction, Slow Burn, fake engagement, voltron-ss 2016
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 09:18:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9315170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraculousstorytelling/pseuds/miraculousstorytelling
Summary: When a king asks Allura to marry his son in order to solidify a treaty, her refusal could put the team in jeopardy. That is, until Lance tells him Shiro is actually her fiance, which would be an easy solution if only it were true.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [varevare (varebanos)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/varebanos/gifts).



> Written for varevare as part of the voltron-ss 2016 exchange! (Sorry it took so long to post on ao3!)

"It's such a pleasure to meet you." Allura smiled, warmly greeting the tall king in front of her. "We're honored to be able to form an alliance with your people."

"And we are grateful for your assistance." He smiled. "Voltron is truly a powerful ally."

"Thank you." She nodded to the paladins standing beside her. "We're all very proud of what we've been able to accomplish." They were all a bit worse for the wear, having just left a battle with a Galra fleet. Still, they were all standing and injuries were minimal to nonexistant, so overall it had been one of their better fights.

"As you should be." The king smiled. His own troops had suffered minimal injuries as well, in no small part due to Voltron's intervention. "Of course, our treaty would be better sealed in the time-honored tradition of marriage. My son," he swept a hand to indicate a shorter man beside him, "Would be honored to ask your hand in marriage."

Allura paused, then sent him a polite smile of her own. "Oh, that's very kind, but it's not necessary."

The atmosphere immediately shifted, and Shiro tensed. The king was still smiling, but his eyes narrowed, and Allura noted the way his guards gripped their weapons just a bit tighter. "My son is not an acceptable husband for you?"

Shiro glanced over at Allura who was trying to find a diplomatic answer that would allow them to leave safely. They'd fought to forge a treaty with the people here. This was a powerful planet, and they were positioned in a particularly strategic location that could very well deal a serious blow to Zarkon's empire. This treaty was crucial.

"She can't." Lance blurted out, eyes wide. "She's already engaged."

The king looked over at him. "Oh? She is?" Shiro quietly readied himself for a fight, already warming up his arm. So much for tact. Lance could talk his way out of a great deal of situations, but even Lance couldn't fake an engagement like this.

"Yep. Sorry. Your son seems great, though." Lance grinned.

"To one of your party?"

Keith chimed in then. "Yes. To Shiro. The black paladin."

Shiro froze as every eye turned on him. The adrenaline in his veins came to a sudden halt along with his breathing. Rather than examine just why he felt heat rise to his cheeks, he swallowed and nodded, afraid to contradict the excuse Lance and Keith had invented. He took a deliberate step closer to Allura, hoping to convey a degree of intimacy that would confirm their nonexistent relationship.

The king eyed him for a moment, then glanced back at Allura. "You have no markings to indicate engagement."

Allura cut in smoothly, "It's been a bit hectic. We're engaged, but we've been fighting Zarkon and haven't had the time to discuss the formalities or celebrate."

"I see." He nodded. "Well, a traditional treaty will have to do, I suppose."

Shiro finally relaxed.

 

"That was completely reckless!" Allura scowled, glaring at Lance and Keith now that they were back in the privacy of the control room of their ship. "Why would you say that Shiro and I are engaged?"

"It seemed like the safest thing at the time," Lance murmured, looking down.

Keith folded his arms over his chest. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Yes, but now we have to maintain this lie or the treaty could be in danger." Allura glanced over at Shiro. "You've put us in a very awkward position."

Shiro sighed. "We'll need to pretend to be in a relationship when we go to the party later tonight."

Allura tensed, deliberately looking away from him. "Precisely."

Keith shrugged. "Better than fighting them."

"Yeah, come on. Worst case, you guys just need to kiss a couple times." Lance smirked. "Won't be that tough."

Shiro grimaced, hoping his cheeks weren't as red as they felt. "We aren't engaged, Lance. We're teammates, and this is going to be difficult for us."

"Keith and I are teammates."

"You and Keith are in a relationship," Allura snapped. "You're accustomed to public displays of affection."

Lance frowned. "Sorry. I panicked."

"Next time, kindly leave the role of diplomat to me, Lance."

"Sorry..." Lance mumbled.

"Thank you." Allura sighed. "Go clean up. We'll debrief after dinner." She finally looked over at Shiro as he turned to leave. "Shiro, please wait a moment. We have some things to discuss."

He nodded and approached her as Lance and Keith left the room, softly debating whether or not their lie had been a good idea or not.

"If you are uncomfortable with this," Allura began, "We can find another way to resolve this."

"No, this is fine," Shiro assured her. "It's not ideal, but as long as you're comfortable-"

"I am."

"Then, this is fine."

She shook her head. "Altean engagement rituals may be different than those on Earth. There are certain...expectations."

"I understand." He folded his arms over his chest, bracing himself for the answer to his question. "If you explain them to me, I'm sure we'll work it out."

"You heard the king mention markings?"

He nodded. He'd been a bit too thrown by everything that had followed to ask what that meant, but he was glad she planned to explain.

"We would celebrate engagements with a feast and the couple would journey together to find a rare plant that produced ink that..." Her voice trailed off for a moment. "Well, it was applied during a very private moment and it remained until the two were married."

Shiro raised a brow. "So, because we don't have those marks..."

"He doubts us. Yes."

"But, we really have been fighting. And besides, Altea was-" He stopped himself. "Does the plant even exist anymore?"

"I... I don't know." She turned to the monitor and tapped a few keys. "Our ritual is not unique, so perhaps a similar plant exists elsewhere."

"We don't need to look it up, princess."

She looked back at him. "You can't call me that if we're engaged, Shiro. You must call me by my name."

He swallowed. "Right."

"And we'll be expected to kiss at the celebration tonight." Her shoulders tensed as she turned back to him. "Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?" she asked.

He nodded.

"They'll ask us when we intend to formally announce our engagement."

"After we defeat Zarkon."

"I thought so, too."

"As long as we're consistent, it should be fine."

"You must understand." She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "They expect us to have a certain degree of comfort with each other." She frowned. "You're already tense, and I haven't even touched you."

"You're tense, too," he pointed out.

She scowled and turned around to pace. "This won't work. What was Lance thinking?"

"It's going to be fine, Allura." Shiro assured her gently. "We'll make it work."

"Really?" She turned on him, hands on her hips. "You really think you can kiss me and no one will suspect anything."

"I..."

"Then do it now," she insisted, closing the space between them and resting her hands on his shoulders.

He froze, eyes wide. "Oh. Of course." Maybe if he was lucky, she wouldn't notice how his pulse jumped and his voice suddenly lowered. She must have noticed the way his fingers shook when he gently brushed them over her jaw. He hoped she'd be gracious enough not to mention the heat rising in his cheeks, but with Allura he could never tell.

Still, she tilted her head and moved forward to meet him when he leaned closer and pressed his lips to hers. The moment they touched, he forgot how to breathe. Everything fell away, leaving just the sensation of her hands on his shoulder, the brush of her hair over his arm, the soft skin of her lips on his... His eyes closed, and he relaxed, moving just a bit closer when her grip tightened.

He broke it off, reminding himself to breathe slowly. In and out. When he met her eyes, she frowned.

"And just what was that?"

"It..." He frowned. "It was a kiss!"

"What?" She stepped back and looked him over. "You're blushing, but all we did was touch our lips together!"

"Yes, exactly. We kissed."

"But, that was nothing!" She waved a hand in frustration. "They'll know we're lying about this if you don't kiss me properly."

"Properly?" He scoffed. "On Earth, that's perfectly proper. Especially in public."

"But we were so far apart, and where was your tongue?"

"My what?" he blushed, folding his arms over his chest. "That kind of kiss isn't appropriate on Earth."

"That's how Keith and Lance kiss all the time."

"Keith and Lance are inappropriate by Earth standards."

She raised a brow. "They are?"

"Well, yes. Especially considering they have an audience."

"We don't have an audience." She gestured at the empty room. "So, why were you holding back?"

"Because it was the first time I've kissed you!"

"But you can't act like it's the first time we've kissed at the party!"

"I..." He growled. "Fine. Let me try again."

"I wish you would-"

"Princess!" Coran's voice rang out as the door opened.

Both of them turned as one to face Coran.

"There's a distress beacon from the Arusians!"

Allura straightened. "Of course." She glanced at Shiro. "We'll continue this conversation later."

He grimaced and nodded.

 

Unfortunately for them, between dinner and debriefing and preparing for the party, they never found the time to talk until all of the paladins had gathered for the event. At Allura and Coran's insistence, each of them was wearing a formal suit, tailored to them by bots they hadn't known existed in the castle. Each had a tie that matched their lion and all but Shiro wore their bayards at their side.

Allura looked them over with a critical eye while Coran corrected each hair out of place and plucked dust off Hunk's shoulder. Keith shifted in place, grumbling for the fifth time about how unsafe it was not to be wearing armor.

"We're not fighting, Keith. We're supposed to be having fun." Lance looped an arm in his and grinned. "You remember what fun is, right?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Yeah..."

Allura sighed. "Everyone, you must be on your best behavior tonight. If anyone asks about Shiro and me, well..." She glanced his way. "We've decided to postpone any formal celebration or announcement until after we have defeated Zarkon. We're fairly private, so you don't have many details about our relationship, and we have kept it quiet for fear of distraction from our main objective, which is to overthrow the Galra empire."

"So, you're really going through with this?" Hunk asked, frowning. "What if one of us messes up?"

"If that happens, we'll deal with it." Shiro indicated the bayards at everyone's side. "You're armed, so if things go south, we have a chance of making it out."

"Of course, we hope it doesn't come to that," Allura chimed in.

"Of course," Shiro agreed.

"Well, everyone looks ready," Coran chirped. "Should we head over?"

Allura eyed Shiro for a moment, then turned. "Yes. I'll ride over with Shiro. Coran, go with Hunk." Her dress swept behind her as she walked over to the transport to Shiro's lion. "We'll meet you there."

Shiro followed her as Lance whined about being alone in his lion. Coran patted Lance's shoulder as he passed and followed Hunk to his lion.

They made their way to the black lion in silence, the tension between them almost stifling. Shiro stepped into his lion, and she followed without a word.

"It wasn't a bad kiss," he muttered once he was seated.

"It wasn't a _good_ kiss either." She folded her arms over her chest. "And it needs work before we kiss at the party."

"Just tell the king we're a little more private."

"Shiro, I'll ask again. Are you sure you're comfortable with this?"

He took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Then next time you kiss me, kiss me like Lance kisses Keith or we'll have a war on our hands."

He blushed at the vivid mental image that rose when she spoke. Regardless of how this evening went, he couldn't quite bring himself to seriously consider kissing Allura that way. Lance and Keith kissed like they were trying to become one person, all tongue and wandering hands, desperately clinging to each other and wordlessly begging for more. "I'll try, pr- Allura."

 

When they arrived, Pidge was already greeting their hosts with a smile. They captured her attention soon enough with a robot butler serving food and drinks, and Hunk wasn't far behind once he and Coran arrived.

Shiro stayed by Allura's side while she made the rounds and played the perfect diplomat. He scanned the room on a constant high alert for any sign of danger. Lance and Keith were chatting with some of the soldiers that had accompanied them in battle. All quiet there. Coran was entertaining some of the younger guests with stories about Altea, and Pidge was following the robot butler around, peppering it with questions. So far, fine there. Hunk was speaking to a fellow engineer and testing some of the food laid out for the guests. Shiro could practically see him writing new recipes in his mind with some of the foreign ingredients. Everything was going well.

"Right, Shiro?"

He jumped and turned back to Allura. "Oh, sorry. My attention-"

"Was elsewhere," she finished for him with a small smile. "I was simply discussing how we met. You were with the others when I woke up and landed on Lance."

Shiro nodded. "Yes, exactly."

One of the listeners spoke up. "So, tell us, paladin, did you love her the moment you saw her?"

He paused and looked over at her. "Well..." They hadn't rehearsed this. Had she already answered? "I..." Better to go with the truth, even if it was a truth he wasn't ready to admit. "No. It wasn't. I knew she was lovely, but I didn't know she was brilliant and strong. I realized those qualities while we fought alongside each other and she pushed us to victory time and time again."

"So it was a long road to romance?" another listener asked.

"It took me some time to admit my feelings, yes." Shiro watched Allura, his eyes on her steady even while his pulse became increasingly erratic. "I can't say I fell in love with Allura suddenly. I just knew that she was the sort of woman I'd be honored to share my life with, and I became more sure of that every day." He smiled. "I'm lucky enough that she returns my affection."

"Precisely." Allura said, "We've-"

"Welcome, honored guests!" The king's voice rang out through the room, and everyone turned to give him their full attention. "Thank you for joining us in celebrating our new alliance with Voltron. To begin this evening's festivities, we will ask our honored guests to lead us in our first dance."

Shiro tensed when everyone turned to look at him and Allura. Lance was already dragging Keith to the dance floor, and Hunk and Pidge were already meeting in the middle of the room. Guests parted out of the way as Allura offered Shiro her arm and led him to the others. He stared straight ahead, focusing on anything but all of the eyes in the room, watching him, putting him at the center of the attention.

Her hand on his arm squeezed lightly. "Focus on your paladins, Shiro."

His attention snapped to Hunk and Pidge, comically mismatched with their height difference. She was standing on his feet and snickering up at him. Shiro smiled, some of the tension easing from his shoulders. Coran had found a partner in the crowd and he was happily chattering away to the taller man he'd chosen as his dancing partner.

Allura stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face Shiro. He blushed when her eyes met his. He tried to cover it up by smiling at her. "You look beautiful."

She relaxed. "Thank you."

He steadied his hands before placing one at her waist and holding the other up for her to hold. She nodded and settled one hand on his shoulder, slipping her fingers into his outstretched hand.

"Are you prepared to lead?"

"Well..."

"I thought not." She stepped closer. "We're much too far apart. Pull me closer."

He reluctantly tugged her closer. "We need room to move."

"This is an intimate dance," she chided him under her breath. "Remember. Like Keith and Lance."

He glanced over at the other couple. Lance was almost plastered to Keith's front. "You realize they're going to trip over each other."

"If they do, I'm sure it will be very romantic."

Shiro grimaced. "It's sure to leave an impression anyway."

"Shiro..."

The music began before he could answer her, which was probably best. She set a fast pace for them, twirling and even dipping him at one point. As always, he was taken aback by how strong she really was. She held him like he weighed nothing, leading him so effortlessly across the floor. Predictably, Lance and Keith did nearly topple over a few times, primarily because they refused to leave proper space for movement.

"You're still too stiff," she whispered, glancing at the guests watching them. "Relax. Think of something pleasant."

"I think everyone's watching the power couple right now."

" _We_ are the power couple," she hissed, dipping him again and leaning over to admonish him quietly. "We need to be the one everyone is watching." She scowled. "Even Coran and his partner have more chemistry, and they just met."

Shiro watched them from the corner of his eye. She was right. Of everyone, he and Allura were the most stiff and disconnected. He was holding back, and she must have noticed. He couldn't tell her why he was keeping his distance, and he certainly couldn't tell her what might happen if he let go... He glanced over at Hunk and Pidge, both giggling and trying to coax the robot butler to join them. He watched Coran who was eagerly regaling his companion with stories of his youth. Even Lance and Keith were enjoying themselves, Lance murmuring sweet nothings into Keith's neck while Keith smiled fondly.

When he thought about possibly losing this, well... his broken heart would be nothing compared to a broken treaty. He had to make this work.

"Shiro, are you listening?"

He slipped his hand behind her, resting on her lower back as he gently tugged her closer. "Yes. I understand."

She pressed in closer. "Better." She glanced around. "The king is watching us."

"Stop looking at him. That's suspicious."

"No, what's suspicious is you leaving enough room for a pack of wild yalmors between us!"

He bristled. "I'm trying."

"Try harder."

Shiro scowled and stopped in the middle of the dance floor. Rather than answer her, he slid his hand up her back. "Fine." If dancing wasn't enough, he'd have to try something else. He cupped the nape of her neck and met her eyes, a small part of him pleased to see she was giving him her undivided attention. "I will." He tugged her forward and met her in an abrupt kiss. She tensed, her grip on his hand tightening at the force of his lips on hers.

She wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling the length of his body closer to hers as she parted her lips to deepen their kiss. His pulse jumped. Sure, he knew she'd try to go further now that their safety and this treaty was on the line, but that didn't change the way his stomach twisted and his mind already memorized the curves pressed against him. Her fingers curled against the small of his back, and he moaned into her lips. His head was swimming as she matched his intensity, darting forward in a bruising sequel to the kiss he initiated.

Hunk's soft gasp and Lance's low whistle was lost on them as Allura quickly took the lead, slipping her tongue into Shiro's mouth slowly, deep enough for everyone to see precisely how far the kiss had gone. He held on tight, fingertips digging into the base of her scalp while he searched for some sensation to ground him. The smell of her flowery perfume was overwhelming, a memory he knew he'd forever associate with this moment. His fingers slowly shifted and laced between hers, squeezing gently as he leaned back and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

She glanced up at him, pupils wide and eyes dark. "Not half bad," she murmured.

He swallowed. "Good." In reality, it was the opposite. This, all of this, was a mistake. He'd known for months now that he was in love with Allura, but now that he knew what it felt like to kiss her, to be kissed by her, to hold her and to finally meet her expectations, he knew that leaving her would destroy him.

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on tumblr under klance-my-way


End file.
